Explosively operated injection gun for treating trees



Aug. 19, 1969 N. J. JOHNSON EXPLOSIVELY OPERATED INJECTION GUN FOR TREATING TREES Filed March 1, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A118 19 1969 N. .1. JOHNSON 3,461,533

EXPLOSIVELY OPERATED INJECTION GUN FOR TREATING TRVEES United States Patent O EXPLOSIVELY OPERATED INJECTION GUN FOR TREATIN G TREES Nels J. Johnson, 912 Ptner Ave., Evanston, Ill. 60202 Filed Mar. 1, 1968, Ser. No. 709,767 Int. Cl. F41c 3/00; B27k 3/10; A01g 29/00 U.S. Cl. 42-1 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A hand gun using an explosive cartridge for injecting systemic fungicides, pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemicals into trees. The gun is held against the tree, a trigger is pulled, a cartridge lires in a chamber to generate pressure enough to force a needle through the bark into the tree, gas pressure then forces a liquid through the needle into the tree. A plunger is then pulled back by hand to withdraw the needle from the tree, eject the fired cartridge and reload the gun with a new cartridge and a measured supply of liquid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus includes a frame, a barrel therein, a ring chamber in the barrel, a slide, a magazine, an extractor inger, a liring mechanism and a trigger carried by the slide, a loading lever or handle pivoted on the frame, a driving connection between the lever and the slide such that rotation of the lever moves the slide to extract a spent cartridge from and insert a fresh cartridge in the chamber and place the trigger in reach of the finger of the user as it holds the handle. The barrel contains aligned separate power and injection cylinders. A power and injection piston in each, an injection needle carried by the power piston, the tiring chamber being open to the power cylinder behind the power piston, means for adjusting the outward excursion of the power piston and needle in response to the pressure generated by firing the cartridge, the needle being open to the injection cylinder after it has been forced into the tree. A pressure duct between the injection cylinder behind the injection piston and the power cylinder open only after the power piston has reached the forward end of its excursion responsive to the pressure generated by the red cartridge, the injection piston being free to move forwardly responsive to the pressure behind it to inject a measured supply of liquid through the needle into the tree. An extractor plunger slidable on the frame. A driving connection between it and the loading lever such that rotation of the lever also urges the plunger forwardly against the trees to force the gun away from the tree and extact the needle therefrom. A spring biasing the power piston and the injection piston back to the starting position when the needle has been withdrawn from the tree. A reservoir mounted on the fra-me, a duct between the reservoir and the injection cylinder in front of the injection piston. A check valve therein so disposed that movement of the injection piston to the rear under the influence of the spring draws a measured supply of fluid from the reservoir into the injection cylinder in front of the injection piston.'

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE l is a diagrammatic View, part in side elevation and part in section showing the injection gun just before discharge;

FIGURE 2 is a similar view disclosing the loading arm or handle in the reloading position.

3,461,588 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 ICC Like parts are indicated by like numerals throughout the specification and drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The base plate 1 has attached to it a power barrel 2, an injection barrel 3 in alignment and separated by a perforate separation plate 4 which closes the adjacent ends of the barrels 2 and 3. The power barrel contains a power cylinder 5. The injection barrel contains an injection cylinder 6. Cushion members 7 and 8 respectively are in the power and injection barrels against the plate 4. The power cylinder contains a power piston 9 which carries the injection needle 10. The injection needle 10 extends rearwardly through the cushions 7, 8 and the plate 4 and in the starting position abuts against the injection piston 11 slidable in the injection cylinder 6. The piston 9 rests against the cushion 7 in the starting position and there is clearance behind the piston 11 between it and the barrel closing plug 11a at the rear end of the injection cylinder.

The plug 12 is threaded into the barrel 2, holds the apertured guide plate 13 against the end of the barrel and is also attached to the frame 1. The plug 12 is hollow and conta-ins a retraction spring 14 compressed between it and the piston 9. The plug is apertured at 15 to permit the injection needle to come out and carries an adjustment sleeve 12a which may be rotated outwardly to limit the penetration of the needle. The forward movement of the piston 9 is positively limited by the plug 12.

The slide 16 is movable along the base plate or frame 1. In the starting position as shown in FIGURE l, the slide carries a pivoted striker 17 connected by a link 18 to the trigger piece 19. A spring 20 anchored at one end on the slide 16 is anchored at the other end on a lug 21 on the -link 18 so that retraction of the trigger piece 19 toward the rear draws the striker 17 back, exerts tension on the spring 20. Thus a release of the trigger piece 19 allows the striker to rotate and hit the primer on a cartridge 22 in the tiring chamber 23 communicating with the power cylinder behind the piston 9 to lire the charge. When that happens pressure is built up behind the piston 9, forces the needle outwardly through the plug 12 into the tree, compressing the spring 14. As the piston 9 goes forward, it uncovers the gas port 24 so that pressure passes therethrough through the duct 25 shown in dotted lines on FIGURE 2, to the gas port 26 behind the injection piston 11. The forward movement of the needle takes it out of contact with the piston 11 and leaves it in the injection cylinder in front of the piston. The piston 11 moves forwardly and forces the liquid in the injection cylinder 6 out through the needle into the tree.

To reload the gun, the operator holds the forward handle 27 which extends downwardly from the slide 16 and rotates the reloading lever or handle 28 rearwardly about its pivot point 29 on the lug 30. This rotates the disengaging lever 31 in a counterclockwise direction and through the link 32 forces the extractor plunger 33 sliding in 4 and 13 against the tree, thus forcing the gun away from the tree to free the needle so that the spring 14 moves piston 9, needle 10 and piston 11 back to the starting position.

When this happens a vacuum is drawn in the injection chamber 6 through the duct 34 controlled by the check valve 35 so that liquid is drawn into the injection cylinder 6 in front of the piston 11 from the supply reservoir 36.

This -movement of the handle or reloading lever 28 also because of the -linkage 37 draws the slide 16 back, the `extractor plate 38l moving with the slide travels along the under side of the barrel 2, camming the spent cartridge out in the usual manner from the firing chamber so that the spent cartridge drops out of the slide. Continued movement of the slide brings the magazine 39 in register with the tiring chamber 23 so that a new cartridge 40 is by the spring 41 forced into the firing chamber. Return movement of the lever 28 brings the part back to the position shown in FIGURE l and the gun is ready for reuse.

The ring mechanism is purely diagrammatic. Firing mechanisms could be used of many other types in this connection. All that is required is that it be a tiring mechanism which extracts the spent cartridge, loads the fresh cartridge and makes it possible to re that cartridge by manipulation of the trigger.

I claim:

1. In combination, a portable injection gun, an injection needle carried thereby, explosive means adapted to force the needle from the gun through the bark and into the wood of a tree, and after the needle has penetrated the tree to force a measured supply of liquid through the needle into the tree.

Z. The device of claim l characterized by the fact that the gun has a manually operated means for positively withdrawing the needle from the tree and automatic means responsive to the manual means for reseating the needle in the gun, recharging the explosive means in the gun and measuring out a new supply of liquid for the gun.

3. The device of claim 1 characterized by the fact that the gun includes separated, aligned power and injection cylinders, a piston in the power cylinder carrying the needle, the needle open to the injection cylinder, a piston in the injection cylinder, a firing chamber open to the power cylinder behind the piston and adapted to receive an explosive cartridge, a measured supply of injection liquid in the injection cylinder in front of the piston therein, a pressure duct between the power cylinder and the injection cylinder behind the two pistons open, to the pressure side of the power cylinder only after the power piston has forced the needle into the tree, the piston in the injection cylinder being free to move forward and force the liquid from the injection cylinder through the needle into the tree responsive to the pressure through the duct.

4. The device of claim 2 characterized by the fact that a reloading lever is pivoted on the gun, an extractor plunger slidable on the gun is connected to the lever so that rocking of the lever forces the plunger against the tree to force the gun back from and extract the needle from the tree.

5. The device of claim 4 characterized by the fact that a slide on the gun is llinked to the loading lever so that rotating of the lever draws the slide rearwardly to extract a red cartridge from and insert a new cartridge into the firing chamber.

6. The device of claim 3 characterized by the fact that a spring, effective upon withdrawal of the needle from the tree biases the needle and pistons back to the starting position, a reservoir is carried by the gun, a connection between the reservoir and the injection cylinder permits vacuum induction of a supply of liquid from the reservoir into the injection cylinder in front of the piston as the piston returns to the starting position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,309,391 1/1943 Hecht Af7-57.5 2,872,682 2/1959 Maier 42--1 2,885,121 5/1959 Littleton L17-57.5 3,168,744 2/1965 Kvavle 42-1 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 21-73; 47-575 

